A crop competition has attracted a near-record entry, despite an outbreak of blackgrass which hit many farms, organisers say.

The South Suffolk Crop Competition drew entries from 56 farmers from more than 300 fields from farms across 55,000 acres in the south-west of the county.

The size of the 19 different classes varied hugely with low entries in the oats, malting winter barley and winter bean classes, but more than 30 fields were entered in milling wheat and the winter oil-seed rape classes, organisers confirmed.

James Kiddy of L Samworth and Partners at Balsham took the South Suffolk Association Cup for the second year in a row in the 525 to 950 acre Challenge Cup category.

Of the three other Challenge Cups, the Crosse & Blackwell Cup went to David Ford, of Alan Ford & Son, Keddington, in the under 330 acre category.

Roger Dennis of Dennis Home Farm Partnership, Clare, took the Pan Anglia Cup for 330 to 525 acre farms.

Charles Ryder of Great Bradley Farms Co, Great Bradley, near Newmarket, won the Streetly Award for farms over 950 acres.

“As ever, the standard of the farms and fields judged has been uniformly high with cups and certificates well spread amongst the 56 entrants,” organisers said.

“It was a particularly good year for Messrs Kiddy and Ford who have each won three cups, but particularly for Charles Ryder of Great Bradley Farms Co. who has won four cups and was also placed in 11 Classes, all but two of the classes they entered.”

Other multiple winners who scooped four or more certificates included R H Maddever Farms Ltd, Thurlow Estates Farms Ltd, Alan Covey, John Brown & Sons, RL Clifton-Brown & Son, TG Harris & Son, Driver Farms and LA Cornell & Son.

Cups and Certificates will be presented at a dinner and prize-giving on Thursday, November 6, at the Stoke-by-Nayland Hotel, Golf & Spa.

This year the speaker will be Eric Morton, who set up vending farm diversification Morvend on the family farm at Needham Market.

The competition and dinner are sponsored by Agrii, Anglian Grain Services Ltd, Birkett Long, Camgrain, Claas, Ensors, Santander and Strutt & Parker LLP.

Chairman John Wayman of Cavendish and competition secretary Giles Allen of Strutt & Parker from Ipswich would like to extend their gratitude and thanks to the competition’s stewards and Judges who come from far and wide and given their time freely and without their time and efforts the competition would not happen.

The South Suffolk Crop Competition is run under the auspices of The South Suffolk Agricultural Association. It is open to entrants who farm within a 15 mile radius of Cavendish.